NFL’s 20 Hottest WAGs: Taylor Swift, Madison Beer, Normani and More

A term previously used to describe the wives of girlfriends of footballers across the pond has traveled to America’s most popular sport.

The term WAGs (wives and girlfriends) was popularized by the U.K. press in the early aughts in relation to Victoria Beckham, a pop singer for the Spice Girls who was married to star footballer David Beckham and a frequent fixture at his matches. While originally referring to the wives and girlfriends of footballers across the pond, and meant to be a tad reductive, it’s now been adopted as part of the cultural lexicon and has made its way to America’s most popular sport: football.

The coupling of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, the pop superstar and stud tight end for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs (who now makes considerable more money off the field via his podcast and brand deals), has put the NFL’s WAGs under the spotlight. Swift almost single-handedly increased the NFL’s popularity among girls and women, including a 53% increase among girls aged 12-17 and 34% increase in women 35+, while adding an estimated $1 billion+ in revenue to the league.

And the NFL took notice. Prior to this season, the league highlighted its WAGs like pop star Madison Beer (fiancée of Chargers QB Justin Herbert), model Olivia Ponton (girlfriend of Bengals QB Joe Burrow) and influencer Marissa Ayers (Giants QB Jaxson Dart’s partner) by capturing footage of them getting cozy with their significant others at NFL training camp as part of a coordinated content rollout.

And so, with the spotlight shining on them brighter than ever and the NFL season in full swing, here are the NFL’s top WAGs, which range from influencers (and lots of them) to pop stars, entrepreneurs and Olympic gold medalists.

• Taylor Swift

  Image Credit: Getty Images for The Recording A

  “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.” That was how Swift, the most famous and awarded musician on the planet, announced her engagement to Kelce, the future Hall of Fame tight end (and three-time NFL champion) for the Kansas City Chiefs. Swift single-handedly helped improve the NFL’s popularity among women when she started dating Kelce and showing up to Chief games, increasing NFL viewership among teen girls by 53% while generating over $1 billion in value for the league. Swift and Kelce, of course, are now husband and wife, having tied the knot in July in a star-studded ceremony at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.